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MFA Open Air on June 19. Dedicated to Ukrainian prisoners in Russia.

On June 19, 2015 a classical music open air concert “Night Serenades” dedicated to Ukrainian prisoners illegally detained by the Russian Federation took place in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

The concert was attended by the relatives of Ukrainian prisoners, foreign diplomats including 15 Ambassadors, Ukrainian politicians, human rights activists, public figures and journalists, as well as more than a thousand citizens and guests of Kyiv.

The honorary speakers of the event were Yuriy Yatsenko, who was recently released from Russian prison, Vira Savchenko, the sister of arrested Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, artistic director of the ensemble “Kyiv Soloists” Oles Yasko and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin.

Yuriy Yatsenko shared his dreadful experience, describing the tortures that the Federal Security Service of Russia had applied to force him to testify that he had been sent to Russia as a spy. Yatsenko called on the audience to bring the actions of Russian authorities to the attention of international community.

Every piece of music was dedicated to one of the Ukrainian prisoners illegaly detained in the Russian Federation: Nadiya Savchenko, Oleg Sentsov, Olexander Kolchenko, Oleksiy Cherniy, Hennadiy Afanasyev, Mykola Karpiuk, Serhiy Lytvynov, Valentyn Vyhivskyi, Stanislav Klyv and many others.

Piazzola’s famous Libertango was dedicated to Nadiia Savchenko

As a part of the concert the audience supported Ukrainian prisoners illegally detained in Russia with a flash mob of white roses.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin:

“Russia illegally keeps Ukrainians not because of its strength, but because of its weakness”.

Pavlo Klimkin stressed that Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine would continue its work on resolving the problem of Ukrainian prisoners, until every Ukrainian, who was illegally detained in Russia, returned back home.